This November marks yet another month deeply influenced by Venus and Saturn which continue to move close to sun and ache to teach us about the love we make in this world and the promises we should keep versus the ones we do. I am sending these notes out to each of you and with them my love and my commitment.

I might have mentioned before that I love fall. I love the birth and death of it. The harvest reaped in the midst of thinning trees, the slow and steady slide into winter’s blankets and cool gray skies. I must also mention that October is a hard month for me. That I spend it and the month that follows oscillating between deep gratitude and soft depression. That this is primarily due to a personal wound I carry, but I think there’s more. I think that as Adrienne Rich (oh my Taurus moon-heart aches) once wrote, we lack a language for talking about personal pain as communal.

In these horoscopes, I am not trying to lend you my sadness. In fact, if I am to be honest, I must tell you that I hoard my sadness; hold is tight against myself. I am trying, instead, to reach into a soft fall spot inside each of you. This month, loves rules above all. This month, we can choose to be swept up in the intensity of what fate folds for us or square our shoulders up in the name of free will.

Thank you for your patience and your readership. I am honored to write these star-meditations for you. Each month I take a deep retreat into my bunny-shaped third eye and lure the words for you. This time, more than any other so far, I have felt a love knot in the sky. What I mean is: a circle cast that invokes each planet. The chant? Move or be moved. I believe in our collective power, our ability to change the world as it changes us.

We’re most of us in the thick of summer and this July I’m a fuzzy love bunny lounging in the cool shade. Come outside and sit for a spell with me. We can steal the burgeoning root veggies just toeing up in the warm dirt. For these horoscopes, I’ve decided that each of you needed a song and I know we all have different tastes but I hope you’ll give your music-familiars a chance. The sun is so bright, and the flowers born new everyday. If a storm comes, let it be a relief, an opening—we are in this together, you and I.

In the Russian language, the word for rainbow light refracted through a prism is the same word as the word for rabbit. When I think of my love for you, when I touch my heart chakra (don’t laugh) and channel each of you, I imagine my body as a room illuminated with bunnies of light. I am writing from that room and you are all in it.

-Galactic Rabbit

Aquarius (Jan 20-Feb 18): In her poem “Desire,” Alice Walker writes: wherever Life /deposits me: /I want to stick my toe /& soon my whole body /into the water. Last time around I told to you take care. Now I’m asking you to shift your gear to drive. Sweet idealist, sometimes your dreaming gets in the way of your doing, holds you back from the world that is already offering you everything you need. I know you have ideas—beautiful ones—but this month, let them simmer on the back burner. Feast on your life, Aquarius. Haven’t you noticed the magnolia trees in bloom, their thick petals flushed pink and opening? They, too are an offering (one of many) that the universe is giving you. All you need to do is notice—stay open, Aquarius, use both hands.

Pisces (Feb 19-Mar 20): Blessed belated Beltane, my darling. Did you celebrate? Did you feel some earthly call spinning inside you? Did you howl at the stars and worship below an altar of your lover’s body? Or, has time slipped away from you as you mourned all things un-fulfilled? “Let’s face it,” Judith Butler writes, “We’re undone by each other. And, if we’re not, we’re missing something. This seems so clearly the case with grief but it can be so only because it was already the case with desire. One does not always stay intact.” Like all Pisces, Judith should be careful about so easily conflating the nature of grief and desire. Both invoke surrender, yes. But desire is the ghost you invite in and grief is the ghost your loss makes of you. What kind of surrender do you want?

Aries (Mar 21-Apr 19): Once, I met this amazing woman named Wangari Maathai. Wangari spent her life fighting for environmental justice and empowering the women around her. She was a brilliant movement leader in every sense of the word (and how Aries of her!). Hearing her speak I began to cry in the dark of the auditorium. She asked each of us what it would take for a small hummingbird to put out a raging fire: a tiny beak-full of water at a time. She asked us if we were willing to be brave hummingbirds in this world. “Finally," Wangari said, “I was able to see that if I had a contribution I wanted to make, I must do it, despite what others said. That I was OK the way I was. That it was all right to be strong.” I believe in you, Aries. I believe you can put out any fire, no matter how small you feel.

Taurus (Apr 20-May 20): It’s your month! Happy birthday! I just shuffled some cards for you, heart-friend, thinking that they would tell me something I don’t already know. Well, if you know anything about divination (earth magician you), then you know the way an unfolding can feel familiar—as if it was never meant to be otherwise. While shuffling, the Queen of Hearts (cups) jumped out at me. I kept going, but it was pointless. The Queen lingered, winking her rose quartz light at me. Taurus, Venus is your maker. She’s right above you, your hot pink star. Everything in you is getting the go-ahead. Your affection is a treasure that the world wants to kiss deeply and for a long time.

Gemini (May 21-Jun 20): I know we’ve had some talks, Gemini. I know that I’ve encouraged you to be more truthful, more forthright about where you’re at. And I know, too, that you have gathered your magic, whether it be light or dark, and taken time to learn it. Gemini, I’m still worried about you. I mean, you put up a good front: so generous with your time, so independent, always onto the next big thing. I feel like there is something stuck in your throat that won’t dislodge. That’s ok, Twin-star. It happens. Being honest with yourself about what you need might be the hardest thing we never get taught how to do. And when we fail, our bodies betray us. Take this month to be extra loving with yourself. Root yourself. Dig it up, write it down, and cry it out.

Cancer (Jun 21-Jul 22): Cancer, I want to be gentle with you. I am thinking about your soft center and breakable shell, the way you move sideways towards your perceived destination. Have you been full of ache and regret lately? Even in the midst of great accomplishments? I understand. These feelings, these memories and wounds are often beyond our control. This is what multi-media artist Tracey Emin wrote of her art: “I think all experiences add to make the person, but I could have done without the traumas in my life. What I’ve done is used my experiences to my advantage, turning the negative around to a positive. That’s one of the greatest things that trauma can teach.” Cancer, I urge you to un-break your own heart, to gather strength and wisdom from your wounds.

Leo (Jul 23-Aug 22): These days I have to reach deep inside to speak to you. You’ve been on guard: kitty shoulders set square, performing a kind of imperviousness. Leo, what's really going on? My heart chakra hurts when I channel you. Something is amiss. And although I know you have it under control, I’d like you to consider the possibility that maybe the reason you feel so stressed, so hard-shelled, has nothing to do with anyone else. This is a powerful time to re-evaluate the path you have chosen. Is there a truer, braver, way to create the life you want? If rejection or disappointment has left you cynical and closed off, step out, Lioness. The path to your dreams requires work. It isn’t easy. And, hokey as this may sound, it wouldn’t be worth it otherwise.

Virgo (Aug 23-Sep 22): Doesn’t it feel like life is finally falling into place? Mutable Virgo, the birds are out, the sky is blue, it’s beautiful and so are you. If I could give you a bouquet for your hard work, I would. You’ve had a trying year, so much reckoning, so many tests of endurance. I want to turn to you and say: it’s over now, sweetheart, go coast those gentle Spring waves. If I could, I would. Truth is, you still have decisions left to make and you need to be deliberate. The way the next month unfolds is completely up to you. Be kind to yourself, yes, be kind to your resilient heart, but also be firm. You know how Virgo Fiona is all “Once my flame and twice my burn” when she is a Shadow Boxer? You might think she’s talking about her lover but I think she’s talking about her own heart.

Libra (Sep 23-Oct 22): Oh, Libra, I know sometimes I’m hard on you. You get defensive; you’re trying your best, and doesn’t that count for something? I want you to know that I see you. Can almost picture you moving through the world and stopping every so often to place a hand to your heart and inhale. Loving and being loved is not easy. Especially when people rely on consistency and steadfastness, which are not always your greatest skills. Is there a part of you that feels like you must choose between your own needs and those of others, that there is no middle ground? I want you to spend some time and think about what it means to compromise your intuition for the sake of pleasure or the continuing adoration of those around you. I want you to honor the heart you’ve placed your hand to.

Scorpio (Oct 23-Nov 21): Hey Moody. How’s that mood going? Shifting every hour? Crying into your tea then sighing deeply with love for the small buds opening outside? Cool. It’s cosmic, Sister, let it ride. Oh wait; you can’t let anything ride. Ok, here’s what you should not do: feel the sadness and wade deeper. You know what I mean: “Oh look, here’s a wound I haven’t noticed, let me prod it.” Prodding old wounds is a favorite past time of yours, I recognize that, but this month be easy with yourself. Tend your tenderness. Go watch a sad movie and cry about something that has no relation to you. Bake yourself a pie, a rhubarb strawberry pie. It’s seasonal, the perfect balance of sour and sweet, like you.

Sagittarius (Nov 22-Dec 21): Okay, Sagittarius. Something is coming up from the earth’s molten core and it is coming through you. I think you’re going through some kind of sexual (okay, or creative) renaissance: the muscles and veins in your body are pumping double time. Is it the spring? The Taurus sun and moon sensual energy? I mean, honestly, who cares? Keep it real and live good. Just try to make sure that whatever it is you’re doing, it brings you closer to yourself and your desires, not further. That fire energy inside you can feel a lot like instinct, an instinct you can’t ignore. Sometimes, in summer, a street gets so hot with sun that whatever is beyond it seems unreal: a shaking mirror. That shaking is an illusion, a trick of light. Don’t fall for it.

Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 19): Capricorns, I have this brilliant poet friend. She’s a Capricorn and like all Capricorns she has a secret magic she only lets you see when you ask her for it. I said to her: Sweet friend, how are Capricorns these days? And she said: What I think, is that we are not listening. Or, if we are listening, we are not hearing correctly. I thought about this for a long time. About what it feels like to betray yourself so often in your efforts to truly understand others. To betray your short-comings or your insecurities. I thought about what it means to be vulnerable without a backup plan, a joke, or a tough mug. I thought about my dear friend’s poem “Sift," wherein she writes: every city has a country bar / I am not always so tough when I walk in. It’s tough to be tender, my Sea-Goats, but walk in anyway. Walk in, order a drink, and listen. Let your body move, surrender to that music.

O April is the cruelest, I know. Too many days it took me to catch these thoughts for you. 'Tis hard to be a crystal whilst suffering Spring plague. 'Tis not hard to slip into this silly, affected voice. Okay, I'll stop fooling around: here is what I have for you, my Spring hares! Before you search for your personal sign, I would like to avail you of some key planetary information. This April presents us with a Cardinal Cross. What is that? That is when the four cardinal signs: Aries (Uranus), Cancer (Jupiter), Capricorn (Pluto) and Libra (retro Mars) form a square in the sky! They will be exactly 90 degrees or 180 (across) from each other. That is a lot of cardinal energy! The energy of change is fueled by the influences of each sign, each planet that’s inhabiting it, and in the year of the Horse, of course! There will also be a solar and lunar eclipse. Are you ready for all that moon jelly? Well, get ready! You can take a look at this site for some more Cardinal Cross info. Now! Behold my love notes.

XO, Galactic Rabbit (with sniffles)

Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 19): Unfathomable creature, are you the righteous goat bleating against the boundaries set before you, or the fishtailed water dweller: sealing cracks as you discover them, mending the machine as it turns? Cardinal Capricorn, you might not know it yet but there is a great cosmic conspiracy in the works, and it’s got you quartered, tied to elements beyond your control: wild fires, large egos, emotions that well up from an endless fount. Capricorn, for years you have been living under the dark shadow of a planet you do not belong to. Everything in you craves change, knows how to build something out of what feels like nothing. Don’t despair, wonder-animal. If there is a fire to your left, then make the meal you’ve been craving. If there is an impossible project to your right, then master it. If before you stands a straight shot to whatever love is, then step forward, Capricorn, and claim it.

Aquarius (Jan 20-Feb 18): Aquarius, I’ve noticed something about you: sometimes you forget that you are not water but the strong wind that bears it. This comes up often, over coffee shop talk or late night drinks. You lean over, heavy with the river of emotions, and ask: how can it weigh so much? Aquarius, in this cosmos we are all trying our best (whether you’ve spent all day praying to Netflix or not) and anytime you want you can rest your arms and lay that river down. This isn’t permission I’m granting you. This is a reminder. You are the intake and outtake of breath that calms the heart down to a steady pace. Remember, when you are still, the needs of others will flow toward you. Sometimes the best kind of friend we can be is the kind that retreats to take care. How else can you gather the strength you need to direct the currents of this world?

Pisces (Feb 19-Mar 20): Oh, my magic fish. You have been swimming in a whirlpool lately, haven’t you? Could you be any more resilient? Well, yes, of course you could, so mutable, so open to what the world has to offer. But just because you could doesn’t mean you should. Maybe this month you should spend some time out of the water. What I mean is, your element, the murky depths, filmy sea bottom: it’s beautiful, but it might be killing you. I’m not about to go into some toxicity metaphor here, no degradation. I’m just going to suggest that it wouldn’t hurt you to spend some time in the sun, taking things for what they are and nothing more than that. It might, in fact, give you some relief. And if you want a warning video, “What Now” by Rihanna is a Piscean feeling I just don’t wish for you.

Aries (Mar 21-Apr 19): Aries, I know you’ve been waiting for something magnificent to happen, for the world to crack open and swallow you up or spit you out into another galaxy altogether. Patience isn’t your strongest virtue, and to speed up the Next Big Thing you’ve been keeping your ax to the grindstone, sweating as small fires fly up off your wheel. You electrify the air and your dedication is un-matched. Aries, you deserve the rewards you’ve been working so hard for, and you are most certainly going to get them, in time. Let’s take a long walk, around the park after the dark, find a spot for us to spark. That’s me singing you some Jill Scott because she’s an Aries who seems real relaxed. Take a minute to collect your energy and lend those sparks to a good fire. Sit yourself down in front of it and enjoy what you’ve made. When you move with intention, you move closer to what you’ve been dreaming of.

Taurus (Apr 20-May 20): Dear Taurus: thank you. Thank you for showing me that dreams are achievable and that the only way to pursue them is to turn them into matter: physical work, tangible material. Your work ethic is outstanding and I applaud it. What concerns me is how often your work ethic cloaks your fear of self-examination. Last month must have felt endless for you, pushing through the remnants of winter’s shroud energy, ready to turn the earth over and welcome spring. Did you overcommit out there? Were you too eager to make sure that your date book left no time for reflection so that you might catapult quickly into the re-birth energy of spring? Well, spring is here, and I think you may have rushed into it. I think you need to take a moment and restock. Are you taking care of the small soft bull in your heart? Does she feel as powerful as you act?

Gemini (May 21-Jun 20): Hey Twinstar, how are you? Take a minute before you answer and consider that we are fictional to each other, that I could be anyone. Does that make it easier or harder for you to approach me with the truth? In a diner booth drenched with sun, on a street anywhere in America, I am sharing a piece of pie and some black coffee with you. I am waiting for you to bare some small part of your darker self without fear. The people around you, the ones who love you, see you. They celebrate your easy laugh, your uncanny wit, your undeniable talent. But they are also waiting for the other side to come out: the side that feels confused about the future, weighed down with incessant insecurity. Consider that Alanis Morissette made her fame with Jagged Little Pill, a dark, weird, absurd pop album. All the enlightened bullshit she produced thereafter just couldn’t compare. Sometimes our dark selves are our best selves.

Cancer (Jun 21-Jul 22): Everything’s going to be okay. That’s what you wanted to hear, isn’t it, Cancer? Well, that’s what I’m here to tell you. Of course, there’s the human condition, the fact that most everything is "okay," relatively speaking. Like Missy Elliot, you can’t stand the rain, but it’s April, so! Listen, instead of worrying so much about how everything is going to be, take a minute to recognize how it is. Surely there is a lot that is going right. Jupiter has been shining down on you for long enough to have some effect: strokes of good luck, moments of perfect synchronicity, a large goal checked off here and there. Truth is, you are going to find yourself getting pulled in a couple of directions: the cusp of great change, debilitating indecision, surges of great willpower. Ride them through toward you dreams, Cancer, you’re more powerful than you let yourself believe

Leo (Jul 23-Aug 22): Hey Lioness. Did you know that Kate Bush is going back on tour? I know! It’s been at least 35 freakin’ years but she’s getting on that spotlight pony like it was waiting for her all this time (it probably was). Here’s what I think: maybe it’s the season of Leo resurgence, our proto weirdo-nymph out there like a banner. One Leo calls to another, the way Kate called up Emily Bronte from the grave with "Wuthering Heights." Lions everywhere are finally waking from their slumber, stretching their big furry paws, and taking up their rightful places amongst their respective prides. I know you will say, "But some Leos are quiet stars." Oh yes, I know your kind. And even you shy lions have a starring role to play. Don’t you think you’ve spent enough time whiling away your days getting ready?

Virgo (Aug 23-Sep 22): It’s easy, isn’t it, Virgo? You put on your jauntiest cap, your biggest toughest boots, your wind-breaker and you’re off to make life what you want it to be! If only, Virgo. Here is a comic I have for you. That Alison Bechdel has got her Virgo thing going on. What better way to escape Virgo depressive mind erosion than by diving deep into fiction? Of course! Just make sure the fiction is not one you are writing with your life. Otherwise you run the risk of coming home every evening with a face that aches from smiling and a chest that aches from, well, aching. Having those two going at once is a confusion your soul would do best to avoid. It may sound hokey but take a long bath, Virgo, light a candle, write a journal entry, let your connection to yourself be the strongest connection you have.

Libra (Sep 23-Oct 22): Libra! Look, you made it! Through last month I mean. Even through Mars is still going retrograde all up in you, I believe you have mastered the art of that disaster. Maybe I am making it up, but I get the feeling that you are regularly traversing the path towards your heart’s deepest truth. I mean serious traversing: bindle on a stick, bladder full of water, thumb out to the open road. And, because of this idea I have of you, I often admire your ability to move quietly amongst the rest of us. You can charm your way out of someone else’s shadow and make just the right joke at just the right time. You’re so good at appearing fine. Sometimes I wonder who really knows you. Is there anyone you meet on your path that is allowed to come along and bear witness to your personal journey? Libra, you don’t always have to go at it alone.

Scorpio (Oct 23-Nov 21): Hey Scorpio, I just watched The Punk Singer (I KNOW! WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG??). There was one moment with Kathleen (a Scorpio, of course; duh; what else?) that resonated with me so deeply I couldn’t stop thinking about it. And the Hairpin captured the exact moment in an interview, and here it is: “I needed to get used to the sound of my own voice, and I think that’s what makes a girl’s bedroom special. You can make whatever you want when you’re alone in your room. There are all these different girls' bedrooms and all these girls are making their stuff, and then they’re throwing it away…” Oh Scorpio, maybe you’re like me. Maybe you didn’t have your own bedroom growing up. Maybe it’s hard for you to make something you feel is good enough to keep. I think it’s time you, too, got used to the sound of your own voice. I think it’s time you made something like you were born to make it, go after something like you were born to have it.

Sagittarius (Nov 22-Dec 21): Dear Sagittarius: goodness, am I glad to know you. There are days when you are a beacon of genuine light at the end of a very affected tunnel. Self-assured, honest, direct and to the point. I know that not everyone sees this side of you. Often, you come off as something else entirely. It’s your mutable nature, you adapt. This is how you survive social drama and avoid confrontation. Well, Sagittarius, in the wake of all this cosmic chaos: the cardinal cross, the solar and lunar eclipse, you are definitely left standing strong (nervous, but strong). Your adaptive skills are going to serve you well. Of course, you know that something has got to change. You’re not happy where you are, you’re just waiting for the right time to act as your strongest self. Let the planetary dance settle into its rhythm before you string your bow and aim your arrow.

March is hard. That’s why it’s called March and not stroll. Mercury retrograde is over, and that’s pleasing. But wait! Look: Saturn retrograde in Scorpio, Mars retrograde in Libra. Picture some douchebag at the club; he keeps stepping on your feet; then he leaves and two more appear outta nowhere. These new guys are like, “Oh, taking up space and jabbing you with my elbows? Don’t mind if I do. You want to have a hard time keeping your commitments and honoring your responsibilities and being honest about what you want? Cool, because that is what I’m about to serve up.” Bunnies, don’t worry. I went right up to those guys and was like: “Come at me, Bro.”

-With Fierce Protection, Galactic Rabbit

Pisces (Feb 19-Mar 20): I’m in an airplane right now, and still I do not feel half as close to the stars as you must feel this month. You must be wiping stardust from your eyes every morning. March opens with a new moon, Neptune, and Chiron all in Pisces so this month is sure to take you on a deep sensitive and artistic ride. You’re excited, aren’t you? You should be. Where you crack open, beauty comes. Where you feel too vulnerable, Chiron is there to bring healing. Prince of The Sea, can you revel in the magic you bring while honoring the magic of others? In this time of intensive self-care, don’t forget we are all parts of a whole, separated only by the glamour of this life on Earth. The more you open yourself up to the wisdom of those around you, the stronger your own powers become.

Aries (Mar 21-Apr 19): You started this month running, didn’t you? Taking chances, tackling goals. Now your gallop has slowed to a strut and even though your road is just as open as it ever was, what felt exciting and full of possibility at first now feels daunting, un-ending. How brave you are, Aries, how courageous. I am always in awe of your spirit. This is when you get to prove your mettle: don’t give up now that you’re scared. Think about Buffy, that Vampire Slayer, who is a Capricorn in the series but is infused with Aries energy via Sarah Michelle Gellar. She slays vampires and solves mysteries like it’s no one’s business but spends so much time doubting herself: she forgets how much her friends love her and admire her on a regular basis. Don’t make the same mistake. And, if you start to feel run-down, un-appreciated, reach out and ask someone to remind you how wonderful you are. You deserve it.

Taurus (Apr 20-May 20): Have you been feeling uprooted? Has something that defined home for you shifted? For a creature such as you, this must be highly uncomfortable. Not that you can’t handle it, you can. With your ruling planet Venus hanging out in heady Aquarius, you are all mind over matter. I wonder, Taurus, if you have been spreading yourself too thin, building up walls so that no one notices the mislaid foundation behind the door. You know how that Taurus Cher sings: “Nobody, nowhere holds the key to your heart/ When love's a possession it'll tear you apart/ You may have lovers wherever you roam/ But sooner or later/ We all sleep alone." Well, maybe she’s right, but we don’t have to live that way. You’re far too strong to have someone invade you, so open the door and let them in.

Gemini (May 21-Jun 20): Dearest Twin Star, I have been learning a lot from you this year. I have noted your fearlessness, Gemini. You go after what you want like it was meant for you. You’re bold and brilliant in the face of new challenges. Why then, do you hide yourself away when you should stand in the light? This month is a good month to spend recognizing just what skill sets and gifts you bring when you enter a room, a project, a partnership. How can you be of the most use? What talents of yours lie in wait? Remind yourself that the more certain you are about what you have to offer, the more honest you can be with those around you about what it is you want. Your fierce kindness and your gorgeous vulnerability—they are integral to your humanity. They are the most beautiful parts.

Cancer (Jun 21-Jul 22): Once, I promised you that life was about to start looking up. I wasn’t kidding. Jupiter is in your house this month and her moons are winking at you. You better get with the program, Cancer, and start appreciating the blessings she is bringing you. Jupiter is the planet of luck and good fortune, new opportunities and developments. It’s good to remember that doors swinging open can cause friction; with friction comes stress, anxiety. More often than not, we can handle what comes to us. More so, that which brings us joy, which often feels (and is) finite, is still a blessing. And, if any of those ideas don’t stick, think of Lucille Clifton, Cancer and Magician, writing these words: